BRISBANE Lions skipper Jonathan Brown says he is a certain starter against the Sydney Swans on Saturday night, despite being hampered by an abdominal strain in recent weeks.

Rumours abounded last week that the injury would force Brown to withdraw from the Lions' round-five clash with Melbourne at the MCG.

Although he took the field against the Demons, he was beaten soundly by young defender James Frawley as the Lions suffered an unexpected 50-point loss.

However, Brown said his abdominal complaint had not bothered him during the game.

"I didn't have a great week last week and I've been a little bit sore around the stomach and I battled through the game," he said.

"There's no excuse there - I just couldn't get a kick and played on a pretty good young defender. Sometimes you roll the dice and it comes off and last Saturday night I rolled the dice a little bit and I didn't play well."

Brown said the injury had improved this week and he expected to move with more freedom against the Swans.

"I'll actually train with the team instead of just rolling up on Saturday night and trying to get a kick," he said.

"I've had a really good pre-season and I've had to keep an eye on my body for the last couple of weeks, but I think I've come out of that and I'll move forward from here."